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Tastes Like Summer: The Perfect Tomato Sandwich

2008_08_21-tomatosandwich.jpgOh, we've been waiting for this for a while...

 
 

Tomatoes finally showed up in our CSA this week, and we got straight to eating them. First it was a no-cook tomato sauce for dinner. Today, tomato sandwiches for lunch.

This is how we make ours. Nothing fancy — no bacon or lettuce or even toasted bread. Just plain, white bread, lots of mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. The tomato juice runs out with the mayonnaise, leaving milky, pink drips on the plate... Heaven.

How do you make your tomato sandwiches?

2008_08-21-tomatosandwich2.jpgRelated: Recipe Roundup: Tomato Tarts

(Images: Elizabeth Passarella)

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Ingredients - Vegetables, Quick, Summer, Sandwich, Ingredients - Fruit, mayonnaise, simple, tomato

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Comments (30)

I haven't ever made tomato sandwiches, but I'm thinking of starting tonight!

posted by Tiamat_the_Red on 2008-08-21 12:05:54
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LOVE tomato sandwiches!!!!! i also wait all year for the perfect ripe jersey tomato. i lightly toast 7-grain bread, slather with miracle whip (yes, i like the tangy zip!), then sprinkle with salt & fresh ground pepper. delish!!!!

posted by 2T on 2008-08-21 12:22:24
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Any ideas for those of us who cannot stand mayo? Or is this just something we have to miss out on? I'd much rather have a good tomato straight up with s&p than anything with mayo.

posted by MarmaladeInk on 2008-08-21 12:54:01
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We had some pasta with cherry, grape, and heirloom tomatoes last weekend that was so good. There isn't much better than tomatoes that taste like they should!

I take my sandwiches on italian or french bread, and like 2T I sometimes use Miracle Whip because it does taste great with tomatoes, plenty of s & p. Or I eat grilled cheese with tomatoes, yum.

You're not eating well enough if the juice isn't running down your chin!

posted by bobcatsteph3 on 2008-08-21 12:57:51
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Mayo sicks me out, so I like to substitute it with thick slices of mozzarella cheese and a little olive oil. You get the same decadent richness from the cheese that is totally complimentary to fresh tomatoes, *plus* the chin-dripping juice from the tomato and oil olive .... man, I want one of these asap!

posted by partyshark on 2008-08-21 13:04:16
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i would add some cream cheese maybe... make a spread from some mayo and cheese. chop in a few herbs. mmm

posted by chusmabilly on 2008-08-21 13:20:52
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try substituting goat cheese for mayo. and you might add a little arugula/watercress.

posted by TheVillageVegetable on 2008-08-21 13:27:14
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I would never eat this sandwich (not a big mayo fan outside of potato & chicken salad) but that is such a vibrant and gorgeous image!

posted by Erin on 2008-08-21 13:32:33
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We make them with homemade mayo and white country bread.

Or no mayo and a little salsa verde on baguette.

Or simply rub toasted bread with the tomato and add olive oil and maybe a bit of garlic or serrano ham. Spanish yum!

posted by JudiAU on 2008-08-21 13:36:38
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best non-mayo tomato sandwich would be the caprese:
crusty bread, mozzerella, basil leaves, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper.

posted by tauremini on 2008-08-21 13:36:41
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I agree with both Spanish yum and the caprese--so good.

posted by jen_g on 2008-08-21 13:55:02
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just like you have it!

in Louisiana we've have "creole tomatoes"....nothing else like them.....fresh tomatoes...sliced thick...homemade bread...or fresh french bread...mayo...salt/pepper...and maybe some cheese....

they are good to stick in grilled cheese too! makes me want one!

posted by murray on 2008-08-21 14:06:07
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BUUTTTTTER!!!!
Tomatoes, Sourdough and good butter.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

posted by kristian on 2008-08-21 14:19:20
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I have to put butter on one side and mayo on the other. NO MIRACLE WHIP!!

Then just salt on the tomatoes and I'm good to go!
It helps if the white bread is really soft. Mmmm

posted by revolution9 on 2008-08-21 14:23:43
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I make a nice loaf of ciabatta bread and then slice it in half and pile on tomato slices, bacon, and goat cheese. It is amazing! Actually, anything on that bread or with bacon is amazing.

posted by sar3j on 2008-08-21 14:27:46
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A thin spread of hummus (heavy on the lemon & garlic), a shmear of homemade basil pesto (with a hint of maple syrup), and big slabs of tomato. Crusty bread a must.

posted by beelzabean on 2008-08-21 14:44:24
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Ciabatta, fresh mozzarella and basil leaves with olive oil!

posted by marthachick on 2008-08-21 15:29:23
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We make ours the same, but sometimes we add a little mustard and greens...still so yummy :)

posted by jennafura on 2008-08-21 15:51:25
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eek-- no mayo!

really nice toasted sourdough, really good unsalted butter, tomato and salt.

yum.

posted by 212gretchen on 2008-08-21 16:16:46
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another vote for BUTTER!!!!

...the very best tomato sandwich of my life was the one I had the day I went into labour with my first child, so it is part of the story I tell her of her birth at bedtime (she knows the components of a good tomato sandwich!) --

sourdough rye (NOT toasted), good French unsalted butter, thin slices of a a really good cheese -- an artisanal cheddar, an aged alp-milk gruyère -- and the best, most tangy slices of tomato...

posted by mschatelaine on 2008-08-21 17:53:55
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oh! and Maldon salt and freshly milled pepper on the tomato!

posted by mschatelaine on 2008-08-21 17:54:58
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that picture brings back memories of reading "harriet the spy" when i was a kid and drooling over the descriptions of the tomato sandwiches she'd insist on eating everyday. to be honest, i've never had one but between salivating over the book description and the image you have, i may make one tonight!

posted by thenewmrsw on 2008-08-21 19:32:57
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Good bread is a must-sliced sourdough or ciabatta, salt and peper and some kind of fat, be it mayo, olive oil or butter. Delicious.

posted by rosebud on 2008-08-21 19:57:21
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i make it the same way you do - and have been eating them since before i could remember. that and banana and peanut butter sandwiches. yum.

posted by elizabeth in AL on 2008-08-21 21:38:30
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I don't know about a just tomato sandwich, but my favorite is white bread (or honey wheat) thinly spread with mayo, with thick cut tomatoes, avocado, sprouts, cheddar and swiss.

posted by Kakugori on 2008-08-21 22:41:55
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i like a portugese roll, toasted and then rubbed with a garlic clove, olive oil, tomato, salt pepper. had my first of the season this week!

posted by LegsBattaglia on 2008-08-22 10:48:42
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I wrote about this for the Huffington Post last year:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elissa-altman/the-worlds-cheapest-and_b_60415.html

posted by TheDailyFresser on 2008-08-23 13:24:51
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Dark toasted bread, cream cheese, tomato, kosher salt and fresh pepper. Open faced.

posted by May on 2008-08-23 18:32:14
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This inspired me to spread some fresh ricotta on country wheat with tomato, fleur de sel and lots of pepper. Delicious.

posted by aaronm on 2008-08-24 11:14:12
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This may sound like madness but a tiny bit of sugar on the tomatoes taste really great brings out the sweetness and takes some of the tartness out... lovely!

posted by macquincy on 2008-08-24 14:15:09
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